Preacher's Joe Gilgun Has No Intention of Making Vampires Cool Again

Preacher is one of those comic book adaptations that make you wonder why it took them this long to make. A cult series that ran from 1995-2000, it has all the hallmarks of great TV: religion, satire, ultraviolence, possession, angel-demon copulation, rednecks, Heaven, Hell, saints, killers, and the Saint of Killers. The title refers to Jesse Custer, the Byronic preacher who embarks on a Quixotic mission to (literally) find God. Tagging along are his trigger-happy ex-girlfriend Tulip O'Hare and Cassidy, a hard-drinking, gleefully murdering, compulsively shit-talking Irish vampire.

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In the Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg-helmed AMC adaptation of Preacher, which airs this Sunday, Cassidy is played by Joe Gilgun. Much better known across the pond, the British actor has played a charismatic, shit-talking delinquent-with-superpowers in Misfits, a charismatic, shit-talking skinhead in This Is England, and a charismatic, shit-talking child-gang leader in Ripper Street. A charismatic, shit-talking vampire whose murder scenes are played for laughs just seems like the logical next step.

Based on early reviews, the response at SXSW, and screeners of the first four episodes, Gilgun is likely to be, deservedly, all of those critical clichés: a "breakout star," a "fan favorite," and a "scene stealer." He spoke with Esquire about Preacher, political correctness, leaving behind hard drugs, and why Cassidy isn't a cool vampire but a "moronic turd."

ESQ: Have you just been holed up in this hotel all day?

Joe Gilgun: Yeah, it's been mental. I'm not used to it. I come from this little town in Lancashire, and being in these big places, and these people, super PC, they're all just fucking trendy. Everyone's got an issue with fucking sommit man, like I had a drag of this [wiggles his vape] accidentally without thinking in the hotel yesterday, and this woman was just fucking horrified. It's like I shot the last dodo in front of her. [Mimes shooting a gun while saying "Fuck it…bitch."] I just had a drag of this, you know, I'm super sorry. Like, are we on speaking terms? Will it ever be the same again between us or is this it now? It's a fucking culture shock. But I'm enjoying it, it's great. It's an adventure!

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"If you're one of those people who's easily offended, or you can only get by in life if you just have some shit to piss and whinge about, don't watch 'Preacher'."

Besides the culture shock and the PC stuff and…

"Fuck 'em." That's my attitude. And that's something that's worth mentioning. If you're one of those people who's easily offended, or you can only get by in life if you just have some shit to piss and whinge about, don't watch Preacher. Certainly don't finish reading this interview. You have a choice in this world, you don't have to put yourself through it. Fuck's sake, like, if you're easily offended, just don't watch TV or read anything ever again. I've got that in common with Cass in the sense that, "Look, it's what it is. It is what it is, stop pretending, everyone!" Be realistic and try to enjoy it. You've got one fucking shot and you're all pricking about reading a book, like fucking terrified of some wanker who isn't there. It's exhausting. That's the PC side that I struggle with, because that sort of stuff you're not supposed to say anymore. Because it makes you a cunt. And if that makes me a cunt, then I fucking am, then!

Own it.

Love it. I can't not be a cunt, it's not in my nature not to be.

Well, talking to you it's pretty clear why you were cast as Cassidy.

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I'm such a cunt. [Laughs] "You're such a cunt, congratulations!"

AMC

How did you land the role? Did you just go in and were like, "I'm going to fuck shit up?"

Well, kind of, to some degree. They sent me the job and I was like, "Oh, sexy vampire, I don't know." [Groans] I don't really like doing things as a general rule; I quite like to be chilled out on my own, dope and, you know, swearing, coming up with silly names and shit with my friend Dave, you know what I mean? And so the other day we were coming up with a name for the urethra and we decided to call it ufranklin, Urethra Franklin. That's the shit I like doing!

That's your calling in life.

Yeah! I'm just the guy who comes up with stupid shit, stick it on social media. "From now on it will be called ufranklin. That's it guys, thanks for listening. #GilgunLife." I don't do social media. I'm fucking useless on it. I can barely use my iPhone. I can't do Facebook, can't do Twitter, can't do Instagram, none of it. I mean, who the fuck wants to sit there doing that shit all day, posting about how you're feeling, who gives a fuck? Tinder man, what's that all about? Tinder, where you're just, like, shopping for a human being. Reading the stats like Mortal Kombat. You're like, "Oh, he's got six arms, and he's only got the two, so I'll probably go with the six arms." I don't want to do that with human beings.

"I have no intention of making vampires cool. Absolutely not. They're not cool."

How different is Cassidy from you? You've played a bunch of characters in the past like Rudy [from] and the guy from This Is England—kind of charismatic, hedonistic, you know, mouthy dudes. Is this a bit of a stretch for you? Or were you just like 'This is me'?

Yeah, it's me, really. To some degree. Including the dark sides as well. It's not every day I have to dig deep. There's days where you do have to dig deep, but as a general rule, it feels pretty natural. Like, I can just put a bit of an accent on and give a "give-a-fuck" attitude just like Cass. I'd love to be able to sit here and go, "No, I'm one of those actors who really finds it." And it's not like that.

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Don't get me wrong. Unlike Cassidy, I'm not like, social. I like my own time. I don't go out drinking and doing, like, mad amounts of drugs anymore. Dom [Cooper, who plays Jesse Custer] and Ruth [Negga, who plays Tulip O'Hare] are bigger partiers than I am. I'm straight in bed at like nine o'clock. I fucking love an early night. I'm at that terrible age—I've become that bastard. I've done it. I still have a bit of rock 'n' roll about me in the sense that I'm blazed out of my mind the entire day, but as far as being an actor, I take my job very seriously. I know I'm very lucky to be doing it at all, so the least I can do is arrive on time and be relatively sober. It's a fucking big deal to me. My other option is a building site or fucking selling drugs, and I don't want that.

So do you think Cassidy is drawn at all from your former self, the hard-partying kind of…?

Yeah, I think so. Like I know what it is to be in that place. I've done hard drugs. Those days are fucking behind me. You can't knock back drugs like that. You'll crash and burn. I did. I just really got to the point where I was like, "Aw, fuck this shit." I just physically can't. I'm not enjoying it now.

Do you think you can make vampires cool again?

I have no intention of making vampires cool. Absolutely not. They're not cool. They're fucking stupid rancid people who lead a terrible life. So no, I'm not in it to make them cool. Don't let Cassidy be a window on your future. If that's your role model, you are fucked. Honestly, I have no intention of making him a cool dude. If people find him cool, then fantastic. I'll always be very flattered by that, but the way I'm playing him is as a moronic turd. As long as I stick to the turd formula, I'll be alright.

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